Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Hinkley Point C Power Station: Radioactive Materials

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department or the Environment Agency have issued to EDF regarding the removal of radioactively contaminated mud from the vicinity of Hinkley Point C to the other side of the Bristol Channel at Cardiff Grounds.

Richard Harrington: The Environment Agency has advised me that it is not aware of any guidance being issued to EDF on dredging of mud from the vicinity of Hinkley Point C. Permission to dispose of that mud at the Cardiff Grounds is a matter for Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales, who act for Welsh Ministers.Licensing for marine disposal of sediments around the South Wales coastline is a devolved matter for Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Government. Nuclear safety and environmental protection are of paramount importance to the UK Government. The UK has a strong regulatory system and companies involved in the civil nuclear industry are required to meet robust standards overseen by independent regulators.

Mineworkers' Pension Scheme

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2017 to Question 9553, if he will publish the Government's objectives for the forthcoming Mineworkers' Pension scheme valuation.

Richard Harrington: Whilst the valuation process is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to publish the Government’s objectives.

Intellectual Property

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with representatives from the Design, Trade Marks and Brands sectors on the future practical arrangements that will need to exist between the UK, the International Property Office and the EU Intellectual Property Office after the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson: My officials and I have held extensive discussions with representatives from across the various IP sectors on the effects of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, including the UK’s future relationship with the EU Intellectual Property Office. This future relationship is a matter for negotiation with the EU, and we will continue to explore all options. The UK is already an engaged and committed member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in its own right, and will continue to fulfil its WIPO treaty obligations.

Energy: Meters

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the percentage of customers not taking up the offer of a smart meter from each of the major energy companies.

Richard Harrington: The Department does not hold this information.The rollout of smart meters is on track to deliver significant benefits, including putting an end to estimated bills, and is set to save consumers £300m in 2020 alone. Suppliers are mandated by government to offer every household and small business a smart meter by 2020, and remain committed to this target.Over 7.7 million smart meters are operating under the Programme.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Telephone Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of his Department's public phone-lines charge members of the public to call.

Margot James: The only Departmental public phone line that charges members of the public to call is the Business Support Helpline (0300 456 3565).

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the offshore wind capital expenditure data was for each of the last two years; and what the evidential basis is for his Department's assessment of the fall in the cost of wind power.

Richard Harrington: The Department does not hold data on capital expenditure for individual offshore wind projects. The Department’s latest projection of capital expenditure for generic offshore wind projects is published in Arup (2016): Review of Renewable Electricity Generation Cost and Technical Assumptions, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/arup-2016-review-of-renewable-electricity-generation-cost-and-technical-assumptions.The Contracts for Difference (CfD) Second Allocation Round results, which were announced on 11 September 2017, showed one offshore wind project commissioning in 2021/22 cleared at a strike price of £74.75/MWh (2012 prices) and two offshore wind projects commissioning in year 2022/23 cleared at a strike price of £57.50/MWh (2012 prices). Both these prices represent a saving on the administrative strike price set using the data from Arup (2016), indicating that offshore wind costs are falling.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of guaranteeing the strike price to consumers of operational offshore wind sites in (a) 2015 and (b) 2017.

Richard Harrington: The first Contract For Difference (CfD) allocation round results, published in 2015, saw over 1.2 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity secure contracts, estimated at the time of the auction to cost consumers just over £240 million per year (2012 prices).The second round results, announced in September 2017, saw the clearing price half for offshore wind delivered in the auction; we secured an additional 3.2 gigawatts of new offshore wind capacity, estimated at the time of the auction to cost consumers just over £130 million per year (2012 prices).There are many factors that affect payments under these contracts, which mean that actual costs may go up or down.These results demonstrate that the UK is an attractive place to invest, with a record amount of renewable capacity secured to power our homes.The price of offshore wind clearing through the auction has halved in two years, demonstrating that competitive auctions are working well to drive down costs and deliver savings for consumers, whilst delivering the government’s decarbonisation ambitions.

Social Services: Living Wage

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that people employed in the public sector social care sector receive the national living wage.

Margot James: The Government and HMRC provide support and guidance to ensure employers in the social care sector understand and comply with National Minimum Wage law. The Government is also increasing funding going into the sector. In the spring Budget 2017, £2bn additional funding for local authorities was agreed for adult social care over the next three years. Funding agreed by Government since 2015 means councils have access in total to £9.25 billion more dedicated funding for social care over the next three years.

Competition

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for the future of UK competition law of the dispute between Bombardier, Airbus and Boeing; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James: The United States Department of Commerce is investigating a complaint made by Boeing regarding the import of Bombardier’s C Series aircraft into the USA from Canada. Separately, the World Trade Organisation is examining the disputes between the European Union and the USA concerning Boeing and Airbus. These matters do not directly concern UK competition law.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of his Department's spend in the last year has been with Government strategic suppliers.

Margot James: In 2016-17 the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spent 5.5% of its procurement with the Government strategic suppliers.

Commercial Secrets: EU Law

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what definition of trade secrets will be used for the purposes of implementation of the European Trade Secrets Directive.

Joseph Johnson: Article 2(1) of the European Trade Secrets Directive provides a definition of the term ‘trade secret’. The Government proposes to consult on the implementing regulation to bring the Directive into force in the UK in due course.

Space Technology

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to allow UK companies in the space sector to retain full participation in (a) Copernicus, (b) Galileo and Egnos, (c) Govsatcom, (d) Iris, (e) the Space Situational Awareness programme and (f) Space Surveillance and Tracking in the event that the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson: The UK has played a major part in developing the main EU space programmes, Galileo, Copernicus and Space Surveillance and Tracking, which have supported the rapid growth of the UK space sector and contributed directly to our prosperity and security. My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State and I have been clear that we want our companies and our universities to continue participating in key EU space programmes. The IRIS and Space Situational Awareness programmes are European Space Agency (ESA) programmes, rather than EU programmes. ESA is an international organisation and the UK’s membership of it will not be affected by the UK leaving the EU. ESA programmes will continue to play an important role in delivering UK national space objectives.

Consumers

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on consumer purchasing power of the UK leaving the EU without having agreed a trade deal with the EU.

Margot James: The Government has undertaken a significant amount of work to assess the economic and fiscal implications of leaving the EU as part of continued rigorous and extensive analytical work on a range of scenarios. My Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has ‎made clear that the UK aims to agree an ambitious and comprehensive economic partnership with the EU that is of far greater scope and ambition than any existing free trade agreement.

Consumers: Protection

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on consumer rights of the UK leaving the EU without having agreed a trade deal with the EU.

Margot James: We are carrying out a full suite of economic analysis. This Government is committed to strong protections for consumers after EU exit.

Intellectual Property

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether UK products will continue to be subject to EU trademark and design registrations after the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson: UK businesses will still be able to register an EU Trade Mark or a Community Design when the UK leaves the EU as these rights are available to non-EU businesses seeking protection in the EU. Regarding the UK coverage of existing EU-level rights, we have made good progress to date on negotiation discussions of separation issues. Many such issues, including IP rights, are dependent on the future discussions. We have been clear that to provide certainty to businesses and citizens we must talk about the future. For our part, we are ready to move these negotiations on. Doing so will allow us to best achieve our joint objectives and move towards a deal that works for both the UK and the EU. We are discussing all options with users of the system to establish the best way forward.

Patents: EU Action

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the UK will participate in the European Unitary Patent and the EU Unified Patent Court after the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson: The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is an international court. It is not an EU court or an EU institution. However, all participants are currently EU Member States. Whatever the UK's future relationship with the UPC, we will need to negotiate with European partners to reflect the change to the UK's status when we leave the EU. As the UK's future relationship with both the Unitary and UPC are subject to negotiation, it would not be appropriate to set out a position at this stage. However, the Government's efforts will be focused on securing the best deal possible in negotiations with our European partners. The UK has one of the best IP regimes in the world, and leaving the EU will not change that: we will continue to deliver quality rights-granting services, lead the world in enforcement and engage in international IP discussions.

European Patent Office

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the UK will remain a member of the European Patent Office after the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson: The UK’s exit from the EU will not affect the current European patent system, which is governed by the (non-EU) European Patent Convention. The UK will remain part of the European Patent office and UK businesses can continue to apply to the European Patent Office for patent protection which will include the UK.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: ICT

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department holds a central list of the IT and digital assets of its arm's-length bodies.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office only holds details of its own IT and digital assets, including those located at arms-length bodies. Separate systems owned and used by the FCO’s arms-length bodies are managed by their own IT departments.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Telephone Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many and what proportion of his Department's public phone-lines charge members of the public to call.

Sir Alan Duncan: All Foreign and Commonwealth Office telephone numbers, including those enabled during a crisis, are either London/Milton Keynes prefixed or local call rate. All callers are charged at those respective rates. Overseas, our embassies also use numbers of the local rate type. This means that our consular services are available to British people 24 hours a day, for the cost of a non-premium phone call.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Brexit

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's preparations for the UK leaving the EU with (a) an agreement on future partnership and (b) no agreement with the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: Following the referendum in June 2016 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to make rigorous preparations for a range of possible outcomes from the UK’s negotiations with the EU.

Middle East: Human Rights

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department funds human rights organisations in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Government supports a range of organisations and projects in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories focussed on human rights, dialogue and coexistence, in line with our policy objective of supporting a two-state solution.

Simon Trinidad

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the US Administration supporting the release of Simon Trinidad.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​I refer the Hon Member to my answer to written question 110939 of 6 November.

Attorney General

Sentencing: Appeals

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Attorney General, if he will extend the range of offences for which an unduly lenient sentence may be referred to the Court of Appeal to include stalking, under section 4(1)(a) of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, and coercive control, under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015.

Robert Buckland: The Government re-committed in our manifesto that we will extend the scope of the unduly lenient scheme. As a first step, an extension of the scheme to further terrorism offences came into effect in August. We are considering with the Lord Chancellor how further to fulfil our commitment to extending the scheme.

Attorney General: ICT

Jon Trickett: To ask the Attorney General, whether the Law Officers' Departments hold a central list of the IT and digital assets of arm's-length bodies.

Robert Buckland: The Law Officers’ Departments do not hold a central list of IT and digital assets of arm’s-length bodies.

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Visits Abroad

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2017 to Question 110167, on Department of International Development: visits abroad, whether that Answer applies to both journeys.

Rory Stewart: Yes

Department for International Development: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of her Department's spend in the last year has been with Government strategic suppliers.

Rory Stewart: In 2016/17, 0.2% of DFID’s total spend was with Government Strategic Suppliers.

Department for Education

Pupils: Personal Records

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what legal advice her Department has received on meeting data protection requirements for data held on the national pupil database that relates to former pupils with whom schools have no contact.

Nick Gibb: The Department seeks legal advice as and when necessary.The Department has legislative powers in section 537A of the Education Act 1996 to collect information on individual pupils. Pursuant to section 537A (9) ‘individual pupil information’ means information relating to and identifying individual pupils or former pupils at any school within section 537A (1).

Children in Care

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that local councils have sufficient funds for children in care.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Spending Review 2015 made available more than £200 billion to local councils for local services up to 2019-20. Funding for children’s services is an un-ring-fenced part of the wider local government finance settlement. It is for local councils to determine how to spend their non-ring fenced income on the services they provide, including services for children in care. Local councils increased spending on children and young people’s services to over £9 billion in 2015-16.To help local councils redesign their children’s services to achieve higher quality and better value for money, we have invested £200 million since 2014 in our Innovation and Partners in Practice Programmes.

Pupil Premium: Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much each school in Harlow received in pupil premium funding in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much pupil premium funding schools in Harlow received in each financial year since 2014-15.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Information on how much pupil premium each school has received in each parliamentary constituency and in each financial year since its introduction in April 2011 is available in the national archive and on gov.uk at the links listed below.Financial year 2011 to 2012http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130108054747/http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/settlement2012pupilpremium/a0075963/pupil-premium-2011-12.Financial year 2012 to 2013http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123124929/http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/settlement2013pupilpremium/a00200465/schools-funding-settlement-2012-13.Financial year 2013 to 2014https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2013-to-2014-final-allocation-tables.Financial year 2014 to 2015https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2014-to-2015-final-allocations.Financial year 2015 to 2016https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2015-to-2016-allocations.Financial year 2016 to 2017https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2016-to-2017.Financial year 2017 to 2018https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2017-to-2018.

Pupils: Nutrition

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with retailers on assisting parents to identify healthy lunchbox items (a) in store and (b) online.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Officials at the Department for Education have not held discussions with retailers on this issue.We want to make it easier for parents to feel confident that they are preparing balanced, nutritious lunches for their children. The Department for Health has published further information such as recipes, tips and swap suggestions that are practical and affordable for parents. These are available on the Change4Life website at: https://www.nhs.uk/change4life-beta/healthier-lunchboxes.

Department for Education: Brexit

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's preparations for the UK leaving the EU with (a) an agreement on future partnership and (b) no agreement with the EU; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Following the referendum in June 2016, the Department for Education continues to make rigorous preparations for a range of possible outcomes from the UK's negotiations with the EU.

Schools: Garston and Halewood

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that reductions in real-terms to school funding in Garston and Halewood constituency will not exceed 1.5 per cent in 2017-18.

Nick Gibb: We have made a significant investment in our schools by providing an additional £1.3 billion across 2018-19 and 2019-20, over and above existing plans. As the independent IFS have confirmed, overall funding per pupil will now be maintained in real terms up to 2020. The national funding formula will deliver higher per pupil funding in respect of every school, and every local area. Since 2015, the schools budget has been protected in real terms. Both Liverpool’s and Knowsley’s School Block allocations have been protected in cash terms per pupil. Local authorities, in consultation with local schools, set their own formulae that determine schools’ budgets. As my Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out in July, this will continue in 2018-19 and 2019-20, providing stability for schools during the transition to the national funding formula. Local formulae must include the minimum funding guarantee, which means that no school’s budget can be reduced by more than 1.5% per pupil in any year.

Nurseries: Labour Turnover

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the recruitment and retention of staff in nurseries.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In March, the department published an early years’ workforce strategy, the Early Years Workforce Strategy, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-workforce-strategy. This set out a number of measures to support the sector to recruit, retain and develop staff. These measures are currently being implemented. To support recruitment, for example, we consulted with the sector and as a result broadened out the English and maths qualification requirements for level 3 staff to include other suitable level 2 qualifications, including functional skills.

Department for Education: Telephone Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of her Department's public phone-lines charge members of the public to call.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Education, including the Government Equalities Office, operates nine principal public phone lines. Calls to five of these lines are charged as UK-wide (0370), geographic (020) or public body (0300) numbers. Four of these are free-phone (0800 or 0808) numbers, which do not incur a charge.

Oldham College

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what future capital funding the Government plans to provide for Oldham College.

Anne Milton: The Department for Communities and Local Government are responsible for Growth Deals with the Local Enterprise Partnerships. This includes the provision of Local Growth Funding to support capital investment for Further Education colleges in England.The Government has awarded £663.4m to Greater Manchester through three rounds of Growth Deals. This is to invest in local priorities, including improving its Further Education estate from 2015 to 2021.

Academies: Inspections

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to grant Ofsted powers to inspect multi academy trusts.

Mr Robert Goodwill: There are no plans to grant Ofsted powers to inspect multi academy trusts (MAT) at this time. Ofsted currently scrutinises MAT performance through focused inspections of schools within the same MAT. The Department is working with Ofsted to develop new approaches to better scrutinise MATs, and the legal framework already has sufficient provisions to take this forward. We will publish details in due course.

Schools

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) local authorities and (b) multi-academy trusts are responsible for the provision of primary and secondary education in England.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As at 1 November 2017, there are 1,240 Multi-academy Trusts (MATs) and 152 Local Authorities (LAs) responsible for the provision of primary and/or secondary education in England. The breakdown of these is as follows:971 MATs that have at least one primary school within them715 MATs that have at least one secondary school within them151 LAs across England that maintain at least one primary school142 LAs across England that maintain at least on secondary school In addition, there are 626 Single Academy Trusts (SATs) which contain a primary school and 874 SATs which contain a secondary school.This information was sourced from the “Get Information About Schools” website on 1 November 2017. Further information can be found here: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.%20.

Apprentices

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the change has been in proportion and number of new apprenticeship starts since May 2017.

Anne Milton: There have been 43,600 apprenticeship starts for the provisional 2016/17 academic year since May 2017 to July 2017.These figures are available in the Statistical First Release, published on 12 October 2017:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/650552/SFR_53_2017_main_tables.ods.Additionally, the Further Education data library also holds further information and breakdowns for apprenticeship starts:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fe-data-library.

Ministry of Justice

Community Rehabilitation Companies

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement of 19 July 2017, HCWS81, on Justice Update, which community rehabilitation companies have had their contracts amended.

Mr Sam Gyimah: All 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies have had their contracts amended so they can focus on activities that best rehabilitate offenders and keep society safe. This additional investment will see projected payments to providers being no higher than originally budgeted for at the time of the reforms.

Ministry of Justice: Brexit

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's preparations for the UK leaving the EU with (a) an agreement on future partnership and (b) no agreement with the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Following the referendum in June 2016,The MoJ continues to make rigorous preparations for a range of possible outcomes from the UK's negotiations with the EU.

Trials: Languages

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the level of take-up by defendants of their right to be tried in a language they understand.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Ministry has several statutory obligations to provide interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings for defendants. The Ministry is committed to ensuring the justice system is supported by a range of high quality language services that meet the needs of all those that require them. My officials monitor demand for these services and work with our suppliers to ensure the requests of these services are met. The latest official statistics published in September 2017, shows 98% of language service assessments are fulfilled.

Ministry of Justice: Telephone Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of his Department's public phone-lines charge members of the public to call.

Mr Sam Gyimah: During 2014 extensive work was undertaken to transfer MoJ’s higher rate customer service lines into local rate numbers. Since that time the responsibility for these lines has been devolved to the ALBs and MOJ does not hold any information centrally, in this regard.

Legal Profession

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to support the UK legal services sector before and after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The UK is a world leader in the provision of legal services and English law has a reputation for excellence across the world. The reputation of the UK’s Courts, Judiciary and legal services sector will continue after we leave the EU, and we will build on this to make the most of the opportunities of post-Brexit global Britain. We also continue to promote our excellent legal services overseas, and launched our ‘Legal Services are GREAT’ campaign last month, to highlight the UK’s position as a premier legal centre.”

Prisoners: Mental Illness

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has for training prison officers to receive improved training on mental health conditions.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Government is committed to ensuring that prison officers receive the appropriate training to support prisoners with mental health needs. The Prison Officer Entry Level Training (POELT) course, delivered to new Prison Officers, includes modules on mental health and personality disorders which emphasise the importance of mental health awareness. The revised “Introduction to Suicide and Self-Harm (SASH) Prevention” training includes a refreshed mental health awareness module. This training is being delivered to all new and existing Prison Officers and non-HMPPS staff who come into contact with prisoners. A Suicide Prevention Learning Tool has also been developed in partnership with Samaritans to support our suicide prevention and self-harm work. This tool communicates important messages to identify and support prisoners at risk.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2017 to Question 109400, if he will publish the number of judicial office holders trained for personal independence payment tribunals in each quarter since 2 January 2013.

Mr Sam Gyimah: All judicial training is the responsibility of senior judiciary and this is exercised through the Judicial College who have provided the following information. The First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal (Composition of Tribunals) Order 2008 and the Senior President’s Practise Statement provides that all PIP appeals, subject to limited exceptions must be heard by a judge and a medical and disability qualified members. All tribunal members in the Social Security and Child Support jurisdiction (with the exception of financially qualified Tribunal members) are trained to hear PIP appeals. The table below shows a combined number for both the judges and panel member training.   Number of Judicial Office Holders receiving training in PIP from 01/01/13 by quarter (The number of active Judicial Office Holder’s (JOHs) has oscillated between approximately 1800 and 2000 over the period in question.)



Table
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Personal Independence Payment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2017 to Question 109400, if he will publish the local personal independence payment areas and the relevant constituencies, with a longer than average waiting time.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service currently only publishes waiting time information at national level. It can provide waiting time information at hearing centre and regional level, but cannot provide the breakdown requested.

Prime Minister

Prime Minister: Easington

Grahame Morris: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September to Question 9602, on how many occasions she has visited Easington constituency since she became Prime Minister.

Mrs Theresa May: I visit all parts of the United Kingdom regularly. Details of my visits within the United Kingdom are published on the gov.uk website.

Prime Minister: Italy

Christian Matheson: To ask the Prime Minister, what the total cost to the public purse was of the visit by the Prime Minister, ministers and officials to Florence on 22 October 2017.

Mrs Theresa May: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Mr Green) on 2 November 2017, UIN 109813.

Ministry of Defence

HMS Ocean

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to mothball HMS Ocean on the date that that ship is due to be decommissioned.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: HMS OCEAN will decommission in 2018 as planned. The ship is currently being marketed and a number of disposal options are being considered, including the possibility of selling to another Government. However, no decisions have been made

Ministry of Defence: Brexit

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's preparations for the UK leaving the EU with (a) an agreement on future partnership and (b) no agreement with the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: Following the referendum in June 2016, the Ministry of Defence continues to make rigorous preparations for a range of possible outcomes from the UK's negotiations with the EU.

European Fighter Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what additional capabilities the procurement of EuroRadar Captor-E active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars would give to the Royal Air Force's Typhoon fleet.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar requirement is being taken forward through the E-Scan programme, which was endorsed as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. Under current planning, this programme will provide Typhoon Tranche 3 aircraft with a world-leading electronic radar capability, including much greater range detection of air-to-air adversaries, and improved electronic attack, jamming and deception capabilities.

Type 23 Frigates: Sales

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has received representations from any foreign government on the sale of Royal Navy Type 23 frigates.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence has not received representations from any foreign government about the potential sale of in-service Royal Navy Type 23 frigates.

Navy: Spare Parts

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the National Audit Office report, Investigation into equipment cannibalisation in the Royal Navy, published on 1 November 2017, what plans he has to increase investment in technical documentation and the cataloguing of Royal Navy ship parts when vessels are brought into service.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: As part of a continuous review of the Royal Navy's In Service Capability Management process, improvements continue to be made to the performance, reliability, sustainability and affordability of each of their capability areas. Included in this process is consideration of the quantity and quality of technical documentation and cataloguing and the elements highlighted in the National Audit Office Report will inform further the decisions made about future investment.

Army

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Oral Answer of 23 October 2017, Official Report, column 11, on army personnel, if he will estimate the number of Army personnel needed to generate a war-fighting division.

Mark Lancaster: The Government is committed to maintaining an Army that is able to field a war-fighting division.Under the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 the Army's principal contribution to Joint Force 2025 is a division of up to 40,000 regular and reserve troops. In addition, within its remaining total force strength the Army would need to retain the ability to deliver its national resilience and fixed tasks, and to deploy a follow-on force.All aspects of Defence will be considered in the National Security Capability Review, including how the Army will deliver the division. The Review is on-going and no decisions have been put to Ministers.

Ministry of Defence: Pay

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) Defence Equipment and Support earned over £100,000 per year in each of the last five years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The number of officials in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) who earned £100,000 per year or over in each of the last five financial years (FY) is set out below: FY2012-132013-142014-152016-162016-17MOD4552576667DE&S1726174344Combined627874109111 Notes:The data is correct as of 31March of each Financial Year.The data is for those whose gross pay is £100,000 or over per year and includes bonuses and allowances.The data does not include the Trading Funds (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Hydrographic Office, Defence Electronics and Components Agency).

Navy

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what services were being provided in each of the planned 16 contracts which form the Common Support Model for support to the Royal Navy surface fleet.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Common Support Model will provide comprehensive engineering support to Royal Navy warships whilst in Her Majesty's Naval Bases and when deployed on operations around the world.The 16 contracts will provide waterfront engineering, maintenance and other technical services for all classes of warship, including the new Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers. They cover support to the full range of on board ships' systems, including power and propulsion, combat management and communications systems, tactical networks, shared infrastructures, visual landing aids and ships protective systems.

Military Aircraft: Accidents

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF aircraft have received category (i) one, (ii) two, (iii) three, (iv) four and (v) five damage in each of the last five years; and what the cost of that damage was in each of those years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

HM Treasury

Treasury: Brexit

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's preparations for the UK leaving the EU with (a) an agreement on future partnership and (b) no agreement with the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: HM Treasury keeps its work in this area under review, and will continue to ensure it is well placed to make the preparations necessary to deliver UK’s exit from the EU, alongside its other commitments.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Small Businesses: Leigh

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate his Department has made of the number of small businesses in Leigh that could be significantly impacted financially by the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government is committed to the best possible deal for the United Kingdom - a deal that works for small businesses and all parts of the UK. Stakeholder engagement is a central element of our plan to build a national consensus around our negotiating position. Ministers from across Government have carried out extensive engagement on EU exit - with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy and all regions of the UK, including the North West. On 4th August 2016 the Prime Minister held a small business summit at Downing Street to learn the post brexit views and interests of small businesses. Representatives from trade associations including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) were in attendance.The UK government believes it is in the interests of both parties to achieve the best possible outcome and the strongest possible partnership for the future - one that works for the UK and for the EU.

Small Businesses

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the financial protections offered to small businesses after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Department for Exiting the European Union is working closely with other departments, including the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to deliver the right outcome for UK businesses, including small businesses, as we leave the EU. Ministers from across Government have carried out extensive stakeholder engagement on EU Exit - with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy and all regions of the UK. In August 2016 the Prime Minister held a small business summit at Downing Street to hear the views and interests of small businesses. Representatives from trade associations including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) were in attendance.

Department for International Trade

Legal Profession: Overseas Trade

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of future trends in exports by the UK legal services sector.

Mark Garnier: Legal services are a key export for the UK, with the UK legal services sector the most international legal sector in the world. We expect access to the UK’s legal services sector to continue to be in high demand.The Department for International Trade is engaged with the Ministry of Justice, other Departments and representatives of the legal services sector to discuss opportunities to further promote the UK legal services sector, and the benefits of the UK legal systems, overseas. The Rt Hon Lord Keen of Elie QC launched the ‘Legal Services are GREAT’ campaign in October.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Brexit

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's preparations for the UK leaving the EU with (a) an agreement on future partnership and (b) no agreement with the EU; and if she will make a statement.

Matt Hancock: Following the referendum in June 2016, DCMS continues to make rigorous preparations for a range of possible outcomes from the UK's negotiations with the EU.

Internet: Terrorism

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to prevent online subscription to websites with Islamic extremist content.

Matt Hancock: This Government remains at the forefront of the fight against online terrorist and extremist material. The Police Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) has secured the removal of over 290,000 pieces of terrorist-related material, including extremist propaganda, since February 2010. We are also working closely with industry to encourage companies to develop innovative solutions to tackle online radicalisation. Finally, we are seeking to tighten the law: my RHF the Home Secretary announced recently our aim of extending to fifteen years the maximum sentence for those who repeatedly view terrorist content online; and we are setting up a new Commission for Countering Extremism to identify whether more powers are needed.

Department of Health

Staffordshire and Stoke On Trent Partnership NHS Trust

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS (a) England and (b) Improvement received the Capped Expenditure Programme report for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the Capped Expenditure Programme report for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent submitted to NHS England and NHS Improvement.

Mr Philip Dunne: As happens prior to the start of every financial year, the National Health Service was asked by the Department to develop a plan for balancing NHS budgets in 2017/18. As part of their plan, NHS England and NHS Improvement have designed and implemented the capped expenditure process (CEP), and they therefore have lead responsibility for it. CEP is an extension of the annual planning process. Financial performance information for each clinical commissioning group (CCG) (and in total for CCGs) can be found in the quarterly published Financial Performance Reports, accessible via the link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/financial-performance-reports/As with all public services, local NHS areas need to live within the budget agreed – otherwise they effectively take up resources that could be spent on general practitioners, mental health care, and cancer treatment. As part of their financial planning, NHS England and NHS Improvement have been running a process to look at how a small number of areas could do more to balance their financial plans, as many already have. NHS England have published, at a national level, documents which describe the overall approach. Individual clinical commissioning groups directly affected will reflect the impact of the capped expenditure process as part of their publication of plans, and will comply with any further requirements for consultation.

Malnutrition

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) children and (b) adults have been admitted to hospital with malnutrition in the last 12 months.

Mr Philip Dunne: Data is not available in the format requested. Such data as is available is provided in the table below. This is a count of finished admission episodes (FAEs)1 with a primary or secondary diagnosis2 of malnutrition3, by patients aged 0-17 and adults aged 18 and over, for the financial year 2016-17. This is a count of hospital attendances resulting in admissions, not individual patients as the same person may have been admitted into a National Health Service hospital on more than one occasion. AgeFAE’sChildren (Aged 0-17)344Adults (Aged 18+)7,939 Source: NHS Digital Notes: 1FAEs An FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. 2Number of episodes in which the patient had a primary or secondary diagnosis The number of episodes where this diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics record. Each episode is only counted once, even if the diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record. 3ICD-10 coding for malnutrition E40 KwashiorkorE41 Nutritional marasmusE42 Marasmic kwashiorkorE43 Unspecified severe protein-energy malnutritionE44 Protein-energy malnutrition of moderate and mild degreeE45 Retarded development following protein-energy malnutritionE46 Unspecified protein-energy malnutritionO25 Malnutrition in pregnancyP00.4 Fetus and newborn affected by maternal nutritional disordersP05.2 Fetal malnutrition without mention of light or small for gestational age The presence of an ICD-10 code of malnutrition on the admission episode indicates that the patient was diagnosed with, and would therefore being treated for malnutrition during the episode of care. The cause of malnutrition is not presented here but may be due to dietary issues, an inability to absorb nutrients normally or another disease affecting the patient’s ability to feed normally.

General Practitioners

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs per head of population there were in each of the last 10 years.

Steve Brine: The requested information is shown in the table below. Since 2007, the overall number of general practitioners (GPs) has increased from 36,420 to 39,660. YearAll GPs headcount per 100,000 population (England)201771.91201672.41201573.21201471.9201371.8201272.2201171.9201071.6200973.7200869.9200768.01Figures from 2015 onwards include locums, which were not previously included.Source: NHS Digital

Women and Equalities

Government Equalities Office: Telephone Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many and what proportion of her Department's public phone-lines charge members of the public to call.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Education, including the Government Equalities Office, operates nine principal public phone lines. Calls to five of these lines are charged as UK-wide (0370), geographic (020) or public body (0300) numbers. Four of these are free-phone (0800 or 0808) numbers, which do not incur a charge.